Joshua Rex Mason was found guilty of stabbing another man in Penticton last summer, in a Penticton courtroom, on Thursday.

Judge Gale Sinclair handed down the decision at the conclusion of a four day trial for the 31-year-old Mason.

Mason faced a single charge of aggravated assault stemming from the incident, which took place on July 27, 2012, at a home on Power Street.

During the trial, several witnesses testified including the stabbing victim, Clayton Bonthoux, acquaintances who were at the home on Power Street and police officers.

Bonthoux, who has had some mental and physical issues since the stabbing, said he only met Mason the night before. He was to be moving into his own place, but needed somewhere to crash.

He never gave Bonthoux money for rent, nor was he ever a roommate, he said.

Others complained about Mason, he said, and he had to throw him off the property.

The next day he showed up with a woman named Crystal Schram, who was also unwelcome at the house, and a fight ensued over rent issues.

Schram and Mason left, but Mason returned later with a man named Pat Strike. When Bonthoux came down off the balcony to the fence, he said Mason leaned over and stabbed him in the upper neck, above the heart and at the base of his throat.

In later testimony, the accused said in his past he had done every drug he could get his hands on and had gone to treatment centres in Langley to deal with his addictions.

He left Langley after getting into several altercations and said he was in trouble with gang members there.

He claimed he had talked to Bonthoux about paying rent to stay at the house, and that the fight took place because he was concerned about the rent matter.

He did not intend to stab Bonthoux, saying the stabbing happened when he put up his hand in defense and Bonthoux hooked his arm, pulling the knife into his own shoulder.

He then walked away fast and dropped the knife in some bushes.

Crown counsel spokesman Neil MacKenzie said Mason’s next appearance will be June 19 for a pre-sentence report.